Damian Priest on Triple H: “I idolized him”

“First of all, like it’s Triple H. Right? Like he’s the man. I mean, I watched him. I idolized him. I mean, I’m still a fan of Triple H. So, sometimes I forget like he’s very much my boss and leader of our brand. But he’s still the game. You know what I mean? Like I look across at him sometimes when he’s having meetings or whatever, and I’m looking at him like, man, that’s a bad ass right there. So, take all of that, all his positions in the company and everything he has accomplished, and that guy praises you. He takes the time to say your name and make sure everybody knows that he’s speaking of you in a positive way, I don’t even know how to describe that. I mean, I was taken aback. I was humbled. I was honored. It was all the positives you could think of. But now, it’s like, well, if he’s speaking to me that way, I’ve really got to step my game up now, even more so than I usually do. Because I don’t want to prove him wrong. And, after he put his stamp on me, I don’t want to embarrass him or make people think that he was wrong. So, I am honored. But, yeah. It’s a lot of pressure now thinking about it. And, as far as the performance, yeah, I agree with him where that was the first time I think I felt comfortable in the moment, where I wasn’t trying to be somebody for anybody else other than myself. And I think that’s what I’ve been missing. And I think that’s why I haven’t really hit my stride up until now. Because, although I had good performances and I’ve had my moments, they weren’t as meaningful because I was still trying to figure it out, so to speak. And I think now I really truly know my goal and purpose here. And I feel it. And I know it. And I think I’m just going to build on that.”

source: PWinsider